#raam2017

[pattiraam2017]

Friday morning found Mark out on the road (again) and feeling good.  The crew managed to get some solid food into him (is there ever a bad time to eat pizza?) and reports that he’s alert and riding well.  He started out in 6th position among the solo RAAM racers (still third in the under 50 solo males) this morning.  Fifth position was reclaimed when Mark passed Sarah Cooper near TS14 in Cortez, Colorado.  Later Mark passed Guido Loehr (second photo above) along the Navajo Trail highway about 16 miles before TS 15 in Durango. 

Mark and crew will have the road to themselves after Durango.  Gruener and Baloh are about 85 miles up the road.  Race leader Strasser is 200 miles beyond Durango en route to TS 19 in La Veta, Colorado facing the last two of the big climbs in the Rockies. 

[pattiraam2017]

Yes, We’re Still in Kansas

Mark entered Kansas yesterday evening after a long, hot day coming out of the Rockies.  For those that think prevailing winds always blow toward the east, Mark faced strong (40 mph) headwinds and crosswinds most of the day.  With temperatures into three digits, it felt like riding into a blast furnace.  The crew was busy all day keeping Mark cool and hydrated.  Calorie intake becomes difficult in these conditions, so the fact that Mark stuck to his regular riding routine speaks volumes for their effectiveness. 

One positive note from yesterday: by being in western Kansas, Mark avoided the stormy weather late yesterday afternoon and evening in eastern Kansas.  Race leader Strasser surely had an exciting evening.

The situation on the road remains unchanged.  Mark remains third among the 18-49 solo males and fourth on the road.  He trails Marco Baloh by roughly 40 miles.  Guido Loehr continues to apply pressure from the rear, trailing by roughly 35 miles.  Remember that both Baloh and Loehr are racing in the solo male 50-59 category.  Patric Gruener, second in Mark’s class, is working to add distance over Mark as he surely knows about Mark’s typical plans for the Appalachians.  He currently leads Mark by about 110 miles.

[swissnexboston]

Health and Sport - insights after the Race Across America

Gilles Suard, Junior Project Manager

On June 26th, swissnex Boston welcomed the Team Pulse from HESAV right after their outstanding performance at Race Across America, one of the longest and most respect ultra-endurance event in the world. It started in Oceanside California, from where international cyclists pushed their physical and mental limits all the way to Annapolis, Maryland. Eight ultra-motivated cyclists from HESAV’s Team Pulse took part of the experience to represent HESAV as well as Switzerland throughout this extreme Race.

The Swiss community, sport enthusiasts, Health and Exercises specialists, Public Health students and Bostonian’s cyclists had the opportunity to hear from the Team Pulse who shared their spectacular experiences lived throughout the race. Essentially, they endlessly ate delicious hearty food cooked with love by the chef on board, enjoyed the impressive landscape, exchanged a few laughs, and stayed determined all the way both under heavy rain and intense heat of 125°F (52°C). The interactive and fun Team debrief was followed by a presentation on the scientific experiments conducted before and during the race from Professor Kenny Guex of HESAV.

A panel discussion where experts from the fields of health, physical therapy and sports discussed the intersection of sports and health both in extreme situations such as the RAAM, as well as in normal everyday situations. David Nolan, Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Sports Physical Therapy Residency Program at Northeastern University - Bouve College of Health Sciences and Sean Clarke RN, PhD, FAAN Professor and Associate Dean, Undergraduate Program at Connell School of Nursing - Boston College, compared statistics in Switzerland and USA explaining that 72% of the Swiss population engages in moderate exercises, which is defined by 2 hours 30 minutes or more, whereas the number in USA is 20%. They ensured that the overall quality of health is improved by regular exercising, thus, it remains a challenge in USA to promote exercising as a result of positively influencing life expectancy and quality of life. When it comes to extreme endurance situation, it is crucial to set needs and expectations as well as prepare an accurate training program to build up foundations of body and bone strength, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.

The event was followed by a networking reception at swissnex Boston, where the participants had the chance to continue the discussions and mingle with the Team Pulse.

[wheelwerksbikes-blog]

@TeamTommy2017 on the home stretch. Even after 2800 miles he just put in 302 miles in 18 hours through the mountains. #buildfitride #raceacrossamerica #RAAM #RAAM2017

[pattiraam2017]

Mark is Still On the Road

Some may wonder why Mark isn’t appearing on TrackLeaders.  It appears as though a glitch has scrambled the racers.  Some are shown as “Finished” while many others are shown as “DNF.” 

Mark is still racing and making good progress.  He checked into Time Station 36 in Greenville, Illinois at 12:22 today and kept riding toward the Effingham time station.  It was near that time that Patric Gruener pulled out of the race.  The situation is now that Mark is second on the road, both overall and in the Solo Male 18-49 class.  Strasser is about 450 miles ahead, closing in on TS 44 in Athens, OH.  Marco Baloh and Guido Loehr continue to duke it out for top spot in the solo male 50-59 category, trailing Mark by a few miles.   Twenty-two hundred miles in and there are three racers within an hour of each other.  Classification notwithstanding, all three want to be first to reach Annapolis even if it remains a race for second.

With luck the RAAM organization will get the Track Leaders situation resolved.  Until then, it is much like the days before tracking when crews spent a lot of time trying to figure out locations for other riders.

[ansoncalder]

Good luck @fshdcycling ! Less than 2 hours until the official team start from Oceanside, CA. See you in Annapolis next week! (Read more below) @raceacrossamerica #raam #raam2017 #rideforacause #fshsociety

[pattiraam2017]

Conquering The Mountain Passes

What a day!!  RAAM racers cross three major mountain passes in the Rockies:  Wolf Creek, La Veta, and Cucharas.  Mark arose Friday morning west of Cortez, Colorado and spent the day covering much of the Rockies.  Most significantly he cross the Wolf Creek and Le Veta passes.  Wolf Creek represents the highest elevation of the race at 11,856 ft.  The route book informs racers that the elevation is over two miles for a couple miles around the summit.  Mark had a solid performance on this climb.  Informal measures had his climbing time as the fastest of the riders who passed ahead of him.  Even RAAM Media took note.

From there Mark screamed across the San Luis Valley heading toward the day’s second major climb:  La Veta pass.  At 9,426, La Veta is no slouch, but the grade is not as steep as Wolf Creek.  He summited La Veta in the wee hours of the night before stopping for a rest in the valley beyond.

He set out on the final climb, Cucharas Pass, early this morning and cleared the summit around 6am RAAM Time (EDT).  Below we see a smiling Mark, happy to have the big passes behind him.

Mark remains in third position among the U50 solo men, trailing race leader Christoph Strasser by some 280 miles and Patric Gruener by less than 90 miles. Solo male 50-59 leader Marco Baloh is near Gruener, putting Mark 4th on the road.

Guedo Loehr (solo male 50-59) continues to motivate Mark from behind, generally within 10 miles of Mark’s position.  Brian Toone remains in fourth position in the U50 solo men, trailing by 40 miles or so (a distance that could easily evaporate during a sleep stop).  Tom McKenna follows in 5th position.

Women’s race leader Sarah Cooper is in eight position on the road. 

From here the racers descend the high mountains and head toward Kansas.  Strasser appears to be on track for another uncontested win, but anything can happen.  He has more than half of the race course to cover and continues to ride with less than 2 hours of stopped time daily.  Baloh and Gruener seem to be motivating each other.  How long they can maintain the pace is unknown.  Both are averaging between 21 and 22 hours of riding daily.  There is a lot of racing remaining where much can change in the span of a few hours.  In the meantime, keep sending encouraging words Mark’s way. 

Regarding the message system, please log off after posting your message.  It seems that there is a 5 person limit to the application so we need to take turns.  Thanks!

[juancraveri]

#THEMAN #Repost @colinfcross (@get_repost) ・・・ Despite the pretty consistent climbing up to Cortez, there are still some fast descents. @andrekajlich @raceacrossamerica #RAAM #RAAM2017 #caf #handcycle #raceacrossamerica #campagnolo #daam ##daamraam #nolegsallheart #colorado #cycling #bikerace #race #specialized #roval #nikon #nikonD750